Natural Perfection
by Seto'swhiterose
Summary: When Lust and Riza face each other in a battle, Riza is caught off guard and defeated. But why is Lust unable to kill her? How will Riza respond to this and what has Lust been plagued by for so many years? RizaxLust, YURI
1. Secrecy and Vengeance

This story grew from all the many ideas I've been toying with lately. I wanted to write a Full-Metal Alchemist fanfic for quite some time, and I knew that yuri was the only way to go for me, but it just took a while for the ideas to fully shape. So, yes, this is my first Full-Metal fanfic and my first yuri, but I am very hopeful that it should turn out alright. Personally, I think this pairing is very plausible considering Riza's and Lust's personalities. I think of them like fire (Riza) and water (Lust). Coupled together, they make the perfect angst-ridden romance novella. Hopefully you feel the same way I do, or are willing to open your mind to new possibilities! Please, enjoy this story. (I know it's not very well written, but please try to put up with me.)

A/N: This story will be told from the first person POV of both Riza and Lust. I think it's pretty self-explanatory which one is which, though. If there's any confusion, please let me know in a review! I'd be happy to put headings on the future chapters. Also, this takes place somewhere in the middle of the second season (of the show). No, it doesn't really follow the story plot. Please don't hate me for that! Just take the story for what it is: Pure fanfiction.

**Warning:** This story contains SPOILERS! Also, rated M for a reason. Blood, gore, death, scenes of explicit yuri (girlxgirl, femmefemme, shoujo ai), and such. If this offends you, please leave now!

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA or any of the characters thereof.

**Natural Perfection**

**Chapter One: Secrecy and Vengeance**

The leaves outside my window were just beginning to lose their calming green color. Summer was almost over. The weather had gone from unbearably hot to moderately cool in a matter of days. Something about this change captured my mind. Why did I find the weather so fascinating? One day we were all enslaved to the grueling heat, trudging around in our substantially suffocating State uniforms, and the next we were bundling up against a cold gust of wind. How fickle of the weather to be so inconsistent. Somewhere inside me, I felt anger begin to form. How could it change its nature so quickly?

Change. For a brief moment, I put down my pen and closed my eyes. Perhaps I had problems with change. I was so unyielding to new things, forever a creature of habit. Perhaps that is what made me such a good officer.

At the moment, I sat outside Mustang's office behind my desk, finishing the paperwork from the previous day which I had fallen behind on. There seemed to be so much work lately. That bastard Scar kept us all running around like assholes trying to find him. And Archer was no better. I found myself getting increasingly angrier at the people in command here. Lately, I had even begun to question our highest in command…but those were only inklings of emotion. It seemed dangerous even to think his name and feel the tiniest of rebellious stirrings at the same time. These days you never knew who or what was listening.

I tried to banish all thoughts of the trivial weather outside my office window, but it proved harder than first anticipated. It was midday and the sun was shining through the glass pane onto my floor in a way that teased me to no end. I could never leave my office and enjoy this weather with Black Hayate or anything of that nature. I could never leave this office and live outside these State walls…

I physically shook my head. No, I could not leave these walls. Nor did I want to, of course. The only place for me in this world was this office and I would make sure that this country, this world, did not go to hell under the command of these infuriating males. That was my mission. I needed to be here to work to save this place. No matter what the weather, (so fickle, so inconsistent), was like. Of course. And that was fine.

Opening my eyes to stare at the meaningless piece of paper in front of me, I was surprised to find that the words were out of focus. I blinked a few times, as if I had water in my eyes. Nothing happened. The various letters and words looked like they were dripping down the page in some incomprehensible garble unknown to my vision.

Gasping, I looked up. Everything else in the room was fine. Down at my feet slept Black Hayate, his black and white fur glistening in the sun by the window, small chest rising up and down with the events of some innocent dream circulating his canine head. On the other wall, the coat rack with both my coat and Mustang's coat, as always. The door leading to my superior to my right, the door leading outside of this office to my left. Across from me, the window.

That damn window. A flicker of anger passed through me. I shivered in response to it, hoping to suppress the foolish emotion. Distractions…

Closing my unruly eyes again, I sighed and leaned back in my chair. The leather crinkled with the shift in weight, and I ran my ungloved hands across the arms (more to try and relax myself if anything). I was not going to get any work done feeling like this so I might as well just alter my attitude. I needed to concentrate on the task at hand.

Paperwork. You're behind, remember? Did you forget that part? Yes, I think you did. Now get to it! Concentrate and just do it.

A wave of tiredness washed through me. Last night I had not had the chance to get any sleep due to the craziness of my schedule. It was not the first time. As sad it was to say, all those sleepless nights were beginning to get to me. Obviously, leaning back in my chair and openly giving myself a chance to rest had not helped at all. In no time, I was one step away from pure sleep.

Since when had this leather-backed chair become so comfortable? Damn it all…

_Sitting outside. Feel the sun wash over your face as your free, untied hair blows in the wind. Perfect temperature, perfect day. The grass feels soft and welcoming beneath you. Black Hayate plays in the many open fields around you, chasing some insect. You are completely alone here. _

_Where are you? It does not matter. Everything is so beautiful here. So beautiful…_

"Lieutenant Hawkeye," _a male voice says_._ You sit back and enjoy the feeling of nature._

"Lieutenant Hawkeye." _Still?_

"Hawkeye." _The images begin to fade. You are leaving this place suddenly. Going, going, blackness and then—_

"Hawkeye!"

I jumped awake, startled, leaping clear out of my chair enough to startle the sleeping dog at my feet. Where was I? Office? Yes, the office.

Had I fallen asleep? Yes, damn it. I had. Such slacking, especially from one of your rank, I reprimanded myself. Damn. I had not meant to fall asleep right in my chair. Looking down at the unfinished paperwork, I saw that the words were now clear as always, the garble erased and replaced. A small sigh escaped my lips. What had woken me?

"Hawkeye, damn it! Get in here!"

I jumped again. Oh. Right. _That_ voice. How could I forget? It haunted me night and day.

"Yes, sir!" I responded, moving as quickly as I could, while still maintaining grace, into his office.

The door was already partially open. It just needed a small push and immediately I stood before my commanding officer: Brigadier General Roy Mustang. Automatically, my body moved into attention, hand shaped like a knife (that never failed to amaze me at its irony) at my brow, feet sharply clasped together. "Sir." There really was no reason to do this; the two of us knew each other well enough by now. Still, it was the proper formality and I was, again, a creature of habit. Like I said earlier as well, it was dangerous to assume a comfort level in the office these days.

"At ease," he said. Like usual, he was situated behind his desk, standing, the phone just placed back down in its receiver. "What were you, sleeping?" I detected the mockery in his voice. This man frustrated me eternally.

I dropped the stance and walked toward him, awaiting the speech. "Absorbed in my work, sir." Of course I lied. You would have to be an idiot not to lie about something like that when talking to your commanding officer; especially the Brigadier General. Besides, I rarely ever told him the truth about myself anyway. Do not ask me why. It just seemed the proper thing to do with him.

As usual, Mustang had his raven black hair fanned around his face in a way most girls would find irresistible, his sharp, intelligent eyes mere slits underneath the wisps. I met those eyes with my own fearless brown eyes, ready as ever to show him that he had formal authority over my rank and nothing else. It had become something of a ritual between the two of us over time.

"Ah. Of course. As usual, then, Lieutenant?" The smooth undulations of his masculine voice taunted me.

"Yes, sir." I did my best to insert a hint of venom in those two syllables. He would do best to drop the subject now.

"Good. Anyway…" he broke the connection with my eyes and moved to lean against the edge of his desk, arms crossed, assuming his natural position. "I just got a call from Full-Metal. Apparently we have a new Enemy of the State."

"Ishbalian?" I asked. Enemies of the State were usually rebellious Ishbalites or Ishbalite-sympathizers. Scar was always on my mind, but we had pretty much lost all track of him after our last encounter.

"No. Unaffiliated with the current conflict. You remember, of course, the man that called himself 'Greed'?"

"Yes." Naturally. There were rumors (strong rumors that most—including myself—believed to be true) that he was a homunculus. Ed, Al, and Armstrong all swore to it. I trusted them greatly and had come to distrust all those in the group of supposed homunculi that Greed traveled with when he was alive. Could this new Enemy of State be a homunculus as well?

"Well, I have just received the location of a woman known to be associated with Greed. She calls herself 'Sloth.' Apparently, Ed has already confronted her and deems her extremely dangerous, an Enemy of the State. Although I don't agree with acting on his word, it appears that we have no choice."

"Did you send a warning report to the Fuhrer, yet?" As he was our superior, before we moved into any kind of action we had to clear it with him first.

"No need. Our mission, to find, capture and kill Sloth, has already been cleared by Archer. Ed went to him after me." Archer was another one of our superiors.

"But if she's an Enemy of State then protocol demands that we tell the Fuhrer. At least file the report, Roy, there's no sense in—.."

"I would agree with you on normal circumstances, Lieutenant. However. Ed also said that this Sloth woman bares resemblance to the Fuhrer's former secretary. Do you remember Juliet?"

Agape, I looked at the floor in confusion and surprise. "Yes, I remember her." How could I not? There had always been something about her…some aura of unearthliness that stared at you blatantly whenever you laid eyes on her. Personally, I had never been fond of the woman. Now she had been declared an Enemy of the State? Had our Fuhrer been duped? Or was he…dare I even think…involved?

"Now you see my dilemma."

"I do. Still, sir, I think we should file the report." Always stick to protocol. "It might be true that the Fuhrer doesn't even know of his secretary's betrayal."

"While you may have a point, Lieutenant, as usual, I tend to think otherwise." A strange, hazy look entered his eyes. It seemed like he was thinking.

"What makes you say that?"

"The Fuhrer knows too much to have been tricked by someone as blatantly obvious as this Sloth. He has too much information and knows too many people. If someone as close to him as she was ever turned sides, he would definitely know about it."

My eyes darkened and I asked, "So what are you suggesting?" even though I knew perfectly well exactly what he was suggesting and could not have agreed more. Never be too cautious.

"I believe you know what I'm suggesting."

I nodded, but even that was dangerous. Naturally Mustang did not trust the Fuhrer. He had openly disliked the man ever since they met. Now, with this news of Sloth, his plan was obvious. Find this Sloth person and use her as a warrant to incriminate our Leader. It was a devious plan, but a good one. Effective. Lately, grumbles about our Fuhrer had increased. Very few people trusted him still, and even fewer agreed with the way he ran the country. With Sloth in our hands it would be all too easy to incriminate him.

Still…something stuck out in my mind. Why would Archer approve the mission? Of the few people I mentioned before that still supported our Leader, Archer was one of the most prominent. He must know that Mustang had every intention to use this against him…or maybe not?

"Did you and Ed agree to tell Archer about Sloth's resemblance to Juliet?" That was the only logical answer.

"As sharp as ever, Hawkeye. Your name suites you."

"I'm assuming that means 'no.'"

"Correct. We cannot afford to have Archer know about that extra, minor detail."

"Extra and minor?" I shouted at him. "It's your entire basis for attacking!" Just like Mustang to disguise any of the unpleasant facts as miniscule and then keep them for his own use.

"Who said anything about attacking, Lieutenant? All I suggested was that we capture this newfound Enemy of State and kill her. For the good of the country, of course." I hated all this secrecy. As dogs of the military, we could never say what we really felt in the confines of our own offices. Everything had to be kept under-wraps. Sentences were spoken in codes so that no one could suspect anything. All of what Mustang just said was almost a blatant lie. But I had to accept that. I had to accept that this government and this country was not as reputable as it was meant to be, and whatever we could do to hide ourselves from knowing that fact we had to do. Unfortunate? Yes. But hell. That was life.

After a moment had gone by, I decided to accept Mustang's slightly devious (and yet not devious, if you considered the fact that he was actually trying to save the country from a disreputable dictator) plan. It was all I could do. There were no other options. "When do we move out?"

He nodded, as if telling me that I had made a wise choice in accepting this mission. "Tomorrow."

"That soon?"

"As soon as possible. You, Armstrong, and I will take a quadrant of men with us to the supposed location of Sloth. She may have others with her; it is unclear at this point. So Ed will accompany us, but Al has been instructed to stay behind." Good. I did not want to see that boy getting hurt. As hard as it was to admit, I had adopted a type of watchful eye for the two of them, and despite the fact that Ed was nothing short of a genius, I called upon that eye quite frequently. Ed was not lacking motivation. The problem was getting him to slow down once and a while.

"We move out at precisely twenty-one hundred hours tomorrow night, Lieutenant Hawkeye. Brief the quadrant on our mission. And remember to prepare yourself." He gave me an incredulous look, telling me that he knew I would never think of myself before a mission. I never had and I never would. He was correct on that, at least.

Moving back into the attention stance, I barked a curt "Sir," then left his office without waiting to be relieved. I had no tolerance for him at that moment. His actions were too risky.

I should never have accepted that mission. I should have acted on my feelings to blockade Roy in his rashness. I even considered doing so as I went to brief the men. And yet, the second I uttered, "Attention, State Alchemists!" in a room full of lower-ranking soldiers, I knew my fate had been sealed. No turning back after that.

How I wish those words had never been uttered.

--------------------------------------

The rose in my hand should have harmed me, but it did not. The thorns. They felt so dull to my fingers. Quite honestly, the sight of the petals' perfect beauty caused me more pain the thorns. Roses. Flowers. They were all so natural, so full of life. Until you plucked them from the earth and twirled them through your unfeeling fingers. Even then, did they truly die?

I was sitting on a hillside. Gluttony was with me, but he stood a good distance away making a small meal of some squirrel. I tried to block out the sounds of raw meat being consumed. The moment here was so perfect, as it usually was.

I liked this place. It was my secret. None of the others knew about my frequent trips to the edge of the forest. I had found it accidentally, myself, one day while looking for some extra food for Gluttony. Amazingly enough, after you traveled past the trees and the many familiar sights in the forest, you came to the end. At this end, the trees stopped abruptly and opened onto a grassy hill overlooking the rest of the city before me. I did not know the name of the city, nor did I honestly care. The only thing that concerned me was the fact that humans lived there. Enemy humans. Dante would demand their hands eventually. Sloth would let her.

But I tried not to think about either of those two at the moment. Not here. In this place, in this secret place, everything belonged to me. The trees, the grass, the small rose bush towards the back of the forest. Everything was mine. I did not have to take orders from anyone or submit to the will of anyone that I did not like. The only other being allowed to come here was Gluttony and he certainly never told anyone else what went on here. Not that anything truly spectacular went on here, anyway, other than the deep contemplation I suffered, but Gluttony knew none of that. True thinking was beyond him. Maybe that's why I liked him so much. No thoughts, no treachery. Or maybe I envied him. No thoughts, no torment.

Sighing, I pulled a petal from the rose in my hand. It felt like liquid running through my fingertips. How exquisite. Could something this perfect really be a product of nature? Or maybe it had to be. Maybe the few things that could be perfect only came from nature.

That made sense despite Dante's reassurances that all her "children", her homunculi, were perfect. We were not perfect in any way. We had feelings despite her promises that homunculi were not capable of such things. I knew that I had feelings. I knew I did. What was this feeling in my heart, then, of such longing for something that I could not name precisely? What was this hatred of Dante and the rest of them? I hated all of them in a way. And in a way I also loved them. Dante was my creator and the others were my siblings. I could never truly hate things so similar to myself. Never. Even though I wanted to. Oh yes. I wanted to hate them all. Hate was easier than love. Love was complex and came with complications. Hate was purely instinctual and rarely ever puzzling. Hate never caused you harm. And if it did you were confusing it with love. A bizarre type of love, but nonetheless.

But if hate could be considered love in some ways…then maybe it was just as complicated as love itself. Could that be possible? Yes, but only if hate felt like love. It rarely did and only in cases of insane people like Envy who dedicated their existence to revenge. Fortunately Envy was a rare breed.

Now that that train of thought had been completed, I allowed myself to let go of the petal. I watched indifferently as it floated above my head with a gust of wind, (strangely cold for the end of summer), into the town before me. I held back my hair as it tried to follow in the wind, unable while still trapped on my head. Wanting to free it, I reached up within my scalp, pulled out a single strand of black hair, and released it into the wind's breath.

"Free," I whispered to no one. Apathetically I recognized the replacement hair that immediately grew back from where I plucked. In spite of everything, I was still Dante's perfect creation. Not even the smallest loss of a hair went unnoticed in the flawless design of my body.

That should not have been important, and yet it was. Why? Why did I care if my body could not die on its own? Why? That question had no answer. It plagued me for quite some time without hope of ever being put to rest. I knew, somehow, that if I ever truly sought the answer to that question, something dramatic would happen.

Dramatic? What could possibly be that dramatic?

I did not know. Something important, something full of change, something that would break the daily chain of events we went through. Something. I closed my eyes, contemplating this something. I wanted change. Supposedly change was dangerous, something to be afraid of, but I could not muster fear when my mind drifted to thoughts of change. Change. Would change mean freedom? Possibly. Or it could mean defeat, hopelessness, and death.

But would death really be such a horror? I had already done it once. Even so, if it meant receiving answers to my most sought after questions, how could any price be too high? Death, defeat, loss? Were any of those things as terrible as people claimed them to be? As humans claimed? Maybe I only felt this way because of my lack of humanity. That too was possible.

Above me the sky began to darken. I felt a change in air pressure and suddenly my skin felt soaked with the weather's tension.

"It will rain tomorrow, Gluttony," I said to my brainless companion. He had finished his meal and was sitting quietly next to me, sucking on his dirtied fingers, for a little while. The silence was something to behold. He knew better than to interrupt me while I contemplated.

"Rain?" He asked, sticking a chubby finger into his mouth in thought. "Can I eat the rain?"

I sighed. Always this question. Standing up, I told him truthfully, "You can drink the rain, but you cannot drink all of it."

His bloated face, slightly bloody with the mess from the squirrel, looked disappointed. "Why not?"

Why indeed. The rain never truly disappeared, no matter how bad the storm turned out to be. It was another one of nature's perfections, I supposed. "That would be impossible." Still disappointed, not understanding the ways of nature, Gluttony mirrored my actions and stood up. "We're going back," I commanded. "She will wonder if we're gone for any longer."

Without a word, the two of us moved through the forest in silence. I knew the way by heart after having traversed it so many times previously. It took as maybe ten minutes to reach Dante's home, including the trip into the laboratory. Homunculi are able to move much faster than humans, something I did enjoy when we were running late as we frequently were after returning from our secret place.

Envy greeted us when we entered our "home." No matter what, I never truly recognized this place as a home. Although I had no memories of my human home, I knew that homes were supposed to be…different in many ways. Homes were places of sanctuary, not places where fights constantly erupted and the people were always looking for ways to ensnare you into their schemes.

Envy stood in the monstrous hall before Dante's room, (only Sloth had ever been inside her room. None of the rest were allowed), arms folded, looking as smug as ever. Eventually I had become used to this expression that he wore night and day. The only times it ever changed were during his battles with the sons of Hohenheim when his entire demeanor changed. That was to be expected. His entire reason for existence was to kill his half-brother in a complementary act of vengeance.

"Late again, you two," he greeted in a voice to match his face. "Dante could have the both of you skinned for that."

Gluttony shivered in fear, moving closer to me (Envy had always frightened him. Unfortunately he knew this and constantly abused it). I stood indifferently. I held no fear in the face of Envy. In truth, I found the transforming demon to be quite annoying. It discouraged me that Full-Metal could not dispose of him soon enough. Envy knew this about me, as well.

"If she cut off our skin, it would just grow back. We cannot die just like you, Envy." The answer was obvious. Envy had proposed his empty threat for the sole purpose of seeing Gluttony shiver.

He shrugged his bony shoulders and said, "She can change that, you know."

"She has no reason to." I was getting bored of Envy's tactics. He had no reason to cause Gluttony such fear.

Smugly, he shrugged again, silent this time. Sloth and Wrath had emerged into view and were walking toward us from a distance. Like always, the two of them were together. When they arrived, none of us offered them any greetings. Sloth merely slunk her thin body into a chair and offered Wrath a place on her lap. Like a spoiled child, Wrath slid onto his supposed "mother" and gave the three of us a self-satisfied look, trying to make us jealous. Never mind the fact that I would attempt suicide if Sloth ever invited me to sit on her like that, although Wrath was too young to see it that way. Sometimes I pitied him because of his age; a creature that young having to kill senselessly. Other times I hated him for it because of the bratty behavior he got away with. It was almost fitting to see Envy torment him once in a while, but I rarely ever got involved in things of that nature.

"Has she given us instructions, yet?" Sloth asked, running a hand through Wrath's thick hair. Basically, she was petting him like a lapdog.

"No. We were waiting for the rest of you." Envy liked to refer to Dante as "we" although the two of them rarely decided anything together. He liked to feel powerful like that, as if he were involved in the verdicts of our leader.

Gluttony had already begun to crawl around on the floor, chasing some invisible thing and attempting to eat the air he caught. When he got hungry, this was usually what he did to amuse himself.

Sooner or later Dante emerged from her bedroom dressed only in a silk crimson bathrobe. She did not care how we saw her. Many times she had walked around our house completely naked, unaffected by the presences of her children. Recently, though, she had begun to stop this behavior, rarely ever undressing at all. Envy said he knew why but refused to tell any of us. Personally, I did not care.

"Glad to see you're all here," she said sarcastically (she was never really glad to see any of us, and we knew that). Her attitude was temporarily passive, but we all knew how quickly that could change. Her eyes roamed over us and fixed themselves on Gluttony. "Gluttony! Pay attention!" she shouted, suddenly angry. Immediately, my companion scrambled to his feet and joined the group by my side.

Realizing that she had frightened him, Dante walked towards Gluttony with open arms and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Oh, you've been out late snacking again, haven't you?" she asked in a slightly maternal voice. Bloody mouth open, beginning to salivate, Gluttony nodded his head vigorously. "Well, just remember to wipe your mouth when you're done, Gluttony." With that, she transmuted a wet napkin for him and cleaned the blood off his chin. Gluttony appeared happy that he had gotten something other than negative attention for once. I would need to remind him later that Dante could just as easily slap him in the face as clean his mouth.

"Anyway," she said, moving passed us to the front of the group. "Sloth has called it to my attention that the young son of Hohenheim has finally discovered her existence." She looked at all of us with intelligent eyes.

"Are we supposed to care about that?" Envy asked, easily aggravated that the attention was not on him.

Dante flashed him a look. "Yes, you are supposed to care about that, Envy. Especially since it is clear to us that Full-Metal has reported Sloth's existence to his higher authority: The State Alchemists." We had all heard of and met the State Alchemists before. Personally, I found them a waste of time. Their presence only complicated matters, as it was then. "I have a hunch that they are planning some type of offensive attack on us for the near future."

"Why would they do something so _stupid_?" Wrath asked from his perch.

Dante nodded at him. "Well, Sloth has been around these State Alchemists before under the guise of a human. She once fooled them into believing that she was Pride's secretary."

"And they _believed_ her?" Wrath shook his head. "Humans," he spit out in disgust. I lowered my head in quiet disagreement. It was not stupidity that had barred the humans from recognizing Sloth's identity, nor was it Sloth's cunning. I believed it was fear. Many humans had been afraid to contradict someone so close to Pride because they believed Pride to be their ultimate leader. That made sense to me. I understood the logic behind silence as a remedy for insubordination.

"Quite true," Dante agreed, running a hand through her short black hair flippantly. "So it would seem that they believe Sloth to be one of the most dangerous in their midst. It is a matter that concerns humans; you all might not understand." She sighed and closed her eyes, as if preparing to explain something difficult to a group of children. "When someone betrays you, as they believe Sloth betrayed them, it becomes a personal matter of vengeance. They will seek Sloth's head with renewed vigor to capture and kill her. Trust me on this."

"I can understand that," Envy commented with a slight _hmph_ at the beginning.

"No you can't, Envy. You are not a human. The only thing you know is how to kill. That is not the same thing." Dante still had her eyes closed. "Now, I grow tired. The only thing I can say to you is: Prepare. I suggest you go to the place where Sloth was last spotted and prepare yourselves for a fight with the humans."

She opened her eyes and looked at each one of us individually. "I think you can do that, now, can't you?"

Her eyes met Sloth's. Despite all this talk of her, Sloth had remained unaffected throughout the entire conversation. Humans really did not affect us at all. They were just things, after all, were they not? Sometimes I contemplated about them during my time in the secret place, but I knew I was the only one who even cared about such things. Sloth nodded, "Yes, of course I can."

Now Wrath. "It shouldn't be too hard. They're just humans! Besides, I'd do _any_thing to protect my mommy!" He snuggled up against her chest and she continued to pet him.

She turned to Envy. "I just hope it's not too boring," he said. Dante nodded, pleased with that response.

Gluttony's turn. Eagerly he asked, "Do I get to eat any of them?"

"If you would like, yes, you may," Dante responded dismissively. Gluttony licked his lips and salivated readily.

Our maker's eyes met mine. Without any thought at all, I nodded, "Yes." I had done so many missions with humans before, why should this be any different?

"Excellent." A yawn escaped Dante's lips. "Well, then, be sure to develop an efficient plan by tomorrow." She moved towards her bedroom door and turned around. "Good night, my children." Her final words before disappearing into the room none of us dared to enter.

"So, Sloth," Envy said, turning towards our sister. "Tell me how your meeting went with that Ed guy."

They began to converse, but I had already stopped listening. I looked up at the barely visible ceiling atop our heads. I wanted to hear the rain. Underneath the ground here we were completely cut off from the nature above us. I found that disheartening at times when nature seemed so tantalizing to me.

"Lust," Gluttony asked, pulling on my skirt. I stared at him. "Dante said I could eat one of the humans!"

I nodded, feigning a smile for his sake. "Yes, that's very good, Gluttony." He crawled away in a brightened mood.

A strange gnawing began to settle in the bottom of my stomach. What was that? It felt like…

No, that's ridiculous. It must have been the rain.

A/N: Ok, that's the end of the first chapter. Basically the entire point of this one was to set up the events of the next chapter and introduce the characters a little bit. I'm sorry if any of you found it boring…please forgive me! I tried to capture the true feelings of both Lust and Riza. Hopefully it worked out.

Please review! I don't know how popular FMA is on this website, nonetheless yuri in this fandom, but I worked extremely hard to make this chapter presentable. Tell me what you think of it. (I'm nervous, but anxious to know.) How well did I do?

Lots of love.


	2. Disobeying Orders

Thanks to all the reviews! Wow, for a while there I thought I was going to have to delete this story (sort of nip it in the bud) because no one was going to review. Seriously, I had one single review. And then more started pouring in…and then more…it was so nice of you guys::hugs everyone:: Thank you so much! It took me a while to update because I had lost all threads of the story for a long time. When you have a mind to delete something, the threads seem to disappear…but luckily enough, some of them have returned to me. Hopefully this chapter is a worthy successor of the last! Enjoy!

**Warning:** This chapter contains mentions of blood and violence, femmexfemme/shoujo-ai, as well as some mentions of death. It's pretty much bowing down to the rating, I guess.

Disclaimer: I don't own FMA.

**Chapter Two: Disobeying Orders**

Rain poured down on us all; drenching everything it touched with cold, rapid pellets. The sun had abandoned the sky, leaving its counterpart with night-like blackness that made it difficult to see. Luckily all soldiers were wearing plastic blue raincoats that reflected the water brightly. I could also make out each and every stationed gun, aimed straight out from the men, (a stance inculcated upon them by years of training). The water spread like sheets, parting straight down the middle, over the weapons. They were impossible to miss.

I stood behind ten lines of soldiers, ten lines of gleaming blue animosity, ten lines of hostile ignorance. Brigadier General Mustang stood next to me. Neither of us wore hoods to protect our faces from the heavenly onslaught. His hair had flattened against his skull as I am sure mine had done as well. However, despite his persistent blinking reflex to block out the rain, Mustang looked as cold as ever.

Diagonally opposite from where we stood, I spotted Armstrong with his hood down, casually awaiting Mustang's order. When I told him about the mission he had seemed less than enthusiastic, but like always he called upon his respect for the General and did as he was told. I wished at the time that I could be as complacent; still the mission rang false to me.

We were stationed in front of the cloistered, abandoned weaponry shed that had outlasted its efficiency more than two decades ago. The government still kept some weapons there (outdated though they were) for safekeeping, but the place itself was in ruins. Holes and missing boards in the wooden structure became glaringly obvious against the black backdrop of the rain. Many people held secret fear of this place for its strangeness. Indeed, some rumors of its being "haunted" floated around the country in sparse flecks. No one ever dared to come here on their own. Yet, Edward swore that he saw his mother's likeness here. He swore that a homunculus by the name of Sloth had attacked him at this very same spot no more than 72 hours ago.

Suddenly, Edward himself appeared alongside me. Without looking, I could feel his small yet proud stature and his astute cunning. Wrapped in his trademark red coat, Ed looked ahead and whispered to Mustang and me, "They have a plan. I can feel it."

Mustang responded quickly in the same tone. "Of course they do. They always do. The trick is to find their leader, this Sloth person."

"You can't kill them without the proper transmutation circle and formula." Ed's eyes were bitingly hard as he spoke.

"Who said anything about killing her? We just need to capture her in order to hold the upper hand."

Ed turned to face our current leader. "And you really think that's possible without a means to harm or kill them? It's an impossible fight!"

Mustang kept his focus straight ahead. After a while, he responded to Ed's comment. "We don't know what the outcome of this day will be. Just keep yourself focused on the goal."

"Kind of hard to do when there's no goal to focus on…" Ed grumbled.

At this, Mustang raised his voice slightly. "Save it for when you're the Brigadier General. Right now, I'm in command here."

Ed did not reply.

I was not sure who I agreed with. True, the battle seemed fruitless and fool-hardy, but Mustang needed to show an offense to the enemy. He could not let them pass idly by while we had vital information. Even if we lost this battle, our enemies would know that we were strong.

At least, this is what I hoped.

Mustang's voice snapped me out of contemplation. "Lieutenant Hawkeye."

"Sir."

"At the ready." If he was giving this command, he must have seen the enemy.

"Where do you see them, sir?" I asked, my eyes frantically searching the area.

"I don't," he replied calmly.

"Sir…" I stared at him. Had he lost his mind?

He nodded. "Relax. We're just going in to inspect first."

Unfortunately, my confidence did not return. Checking my right side for the secret hand gun I had stashed away, my left side for the hilt of an army sword tucked inside its sheath, and both my breast pockets for extra bullets and replacement knives, I reached behind me for a rifle. Havoc, my second in command, stood at his attention spot and immediately handed it to me. Cocking it, I shouted Mustang's command to the squadron, "INSPECTION! 45 DEGREES!"

In one single wave, the soldiers lowered their guns slightly (on a 45 degree angle) and prepared for the next command.

"AT THE READY…TOGETHER…" I glanced at Mustang one last time for the entry command. He nodded deftly with assurance.

"FORWARD MARCH!" The troops began marching in unison towards the shed.

The sound of marching boats competed with that of the rain pummeling the earth. My ears were filled with both sounds until I started to get dizzy. I closed my eyes and followed the pattern lead before me by the others.

Something felt so wrong. Why was Mustang doing this? As my eyelids closed, I saw the possible future of complete death encircling all around us in their subsequent darkness. Bodies strewn everywhere…headless, limbless, blank eyes…it was all so obvious who had one and who had lost…Mustang's own head frozen in death beneath my feet…

"Hawkeye,"

His voice…alive? Dead?

"Hawkeye!" I snapped my eyes open.

"Sir!"

"Stop doing that!" My leader seemed genuinely angry. I nodded at this, but let my own concern show fully. "Now listen. I'm going to have you command the troops into the shed…"

As he spoke, I looked in front of our line. The building loomed before us like the ghosts it supposedly held. Goosebumps erupted on my flesh. Some of the soldiers had started whispering among themselves.

We were losing their will.

"We'll split the quadrant into three parts. I'll take the first and lead directly ahead. You take the second and lead them to the right side. Have Armstrong take the third and inspect the left side. Clear?"

I stared at him emotionlessly. "As we discussed, then, sir?"

"Yes."

Armstrong already knew the plan, then. We had gone over it the night before in General Mustang's office. After hordes of battle plans had been thrown on the table, we decided on this one and split the men in thirds. Divide and conquer, I supposed. However, it seemed that splitting them up now, when we had already lost some of the men's will to fight, was not the best idea…

"What are you waiting for?" Mustang asked, directly into my ear.

"Nothing." I did not add the "sir." It seemed pointless. "THREE QUADRANTS! LEFT! STRAIGHT! RIGHT!"

The soldiers automatically divided themselves into the predetermined factions. Armstrong boldly took on his third. "Come on, men! Follow me." What scared me was that he did not even spare a glance to Mustang and me behind him. He should have at least acknowledged that he had heard the command…a wish of luck…anything?

Whatever. There was no time to worry about Armstrong now.

I stepped forward and took my section shouting, "Let's move!" And so I left Mustang and Edward to go straight into the shed, barrels unlocked, guns at the ready. It seemed reasonable, then, not to spare them a glance. Wordlessly, we moved to the right, myself in the lead.

There were no doors towards the right, but there were enough gaping holes for any number of men to crawl through. When we reached a hole I stood aside and told them, "First we inspect the surroundings." Moving on the outside of the shed we slunk, slowly around the back. Before stepping straight behind the building, I grabbed my rifle and aimed it straight in front of me exactly at the moment I turned to face the open backyard of the building.

Trees. Rain. More dead wood. A strange clearing in the distance that opened into a city…but no bodies. No people. Were we alone here? I stood for about thirty seconds in the same position. Nothing appeared.

Slowly letting my gun drop, I told the men, "Alright. All clear. Move in."

We turned around and headed for the holes in the front. Suddenly, I heard footsteps and heavy breathing. Panting. Every single body turned around, including myself, and aimed their rifles.

A soldier, blue coated and obvious State material, was running toward us. He had no weapon, there were scratches and bruise along his face, and he held an astounding amount of fear in his eyes.

"Lieutenant…" he panted. "Lieutenant!" I thought a million things but said nothing. Instead, I let my gun leave the ready position. The others did the same.

"Lieutenant!" He reached me and clung onto my clothes. "Lieutenant Hawkeye! There's been…a terrible…accident…mistake…battle."

I grabbed his elbows and looked deeply into his frightened eyes. Oh God. Don't tell me… "What happened, soldier?" I demanded. "Tell me!"

"General Mustang…he…we…moved in too quickly…they surrounded us…we fought…our best…and General Mustang…General Mustang he…" The soldier looked down and choked.

I knew it. Damn that no one listened to me! Goddamn it, Mustang! "Alright. We're going to assist his quadrant. Are there any soldiers left that you know of?"

"I…can't be sure, Lieutenant. It was dark—I ran for you as quickly as I could!" He held me like a child clinging to its mother. Dear God, what could have frightened him so badly?

"You did the right thing, soldier," I comforted. "Now tell me, can you still fight?"

Immediately letting go, he stood up straight and saluted me. "Yes, ma'am!" Ah, a proud dog. At least I had need of those.

"Then join the others. We're going to help them!" As he scrambled to the back of the line, I gave one last glance to the city clearing. Nothing had felt right…I knew it…oh well. Now was the time to help my general.

When I turned back to my squad, I saw perhaps one of the most disturbing scenes I have ever seen in my life. The solider, the innocent, the man who had been clinging to me no more than five seconds ago was beating the rest of my men with sharpened knives, (literally stabbing them in the back), and kicking them with stark feet.

I ran over and grabbed him around the neck, flinging him to the ground. "What the hell are you doing?!"

A smirk spread across his lips and his hair grew long and bushy. His long blue military uniform shrank and transformed into a skimpy black outfit. Pale skin…cold to the touch…eyes that chomped on my pride and being…

"Homunculus…" I whispered.

While the last syllable of that disgusting word still hung on my breath, he reached up with a knife-like leg and kicked me in the stomach, then punched me in the face. A rapid harmony of pain. I fell backwards and dropped my rifle.

Tricked! Fucking hell…

Raising a hand to my bleeding (and probably broken) nose, I jumped up and reached for my hand rifle. The homunculus had his back turned as he continued to destroy my all but defenseless soldiers—there was no way to kill a homunculus without alchemy.

"To hell with that," I thought. "Nothing can stop me from trying!"

I cocked my gun and shot the beast directly in the spine, then the shoulder, then the hip, then the neck…I kept shooting until I had no bullets left.

Reloading, I watched as the creature quivered and fell. Had I…was it…?

The holes in his deathly skin suddenly began to close themselves. He was…healing…

The creature stood facing me. "You bitch!" he shouted and ran towards me.

My gun went off again, though I knew it was useless. This time I shot him in the face, blowing a hole clear through his head. Instead of dropping like a human would have, he used the momentum of the shot to flip backwards, landing on the fallen bodies of my men. I watched helplessly as his face pieced itself back together.

I expected him to come at me again, so I raised my gun and fired. Unfortunately, the target moved and jumped backward again—simply inviting me to follow him.

What else was I supposed to do? He was the enemy. I did not know how to use alchemy effectively, but…I would still follow him. I would lead him into some sort of…trap. Yes, I trap. The others had to be in the same predicament I was. This made perfect sense. At the time.

So, stepping over my men (most of which were dead), and called to the alive ones, "Follow me!"

None did.

I barely even noticed, though. My feet continued to run. I stepped heedlessly, unafraid, into the hole and the darkness of the building. My mind was set on one thing: That damn monster. He would die before the day was done.

-------------------------------------------------

Sloth stared down at the humans from our spot on the rooftop. She wore her trademark smile as she spoke. "They can't see well in the rain. Remember that."

Envy lay on the other side of her, (he had had enough of watching by this point), sulkily complaining. "When are we going to move in? I've had enough of waiting, damn it!" I knew it.

"We wait for them to make the first move," Sloth stated simply. "Then, Envy. Then we move in."

I moved my eyes from them and looked at the many blue dots align with our current, ramshackle station. The rain ruined them. They looked much more…normal in the sunlight. The rain made them soggy. There were humans in the back row that did not wear anything to cover their heads. Was this a mark of superiority? I had no clue. All I did know was that the rain mangled their features.

One of them, what looked like a man, with black hair was blinking rapidly to keep the water out of his eyes. He looked old. Feeble almost. If not for his young, sexual prowess I would have thought him later on in years. The other…a blonde one that looked like a woman. She had long hair gathered back into a tight bun at the back of her head. She stared straight ahead, as if the rain did not bother her. She looked…almost normal. My dead skin could not retain water or become wet for more than a few seconds. Was she a human that did not feel the water?

Such a stupid thought. Of course not.

Suddenly a red dot moved into view, next to the black-haired man. Envy snarled and stood up. "That's Ed!"

Sloth nodded. "Yes it is. Do not advance."

"But he's right there! It's the perfect time!" His face turned to her twisted into angry confusion.

"I said to wait. Our mistress left me in charge. So you will wait." Envy crossed his arms and sat down.

There were only three of us on the roof. Gluttony and Wrath were waiting around the other side of the place. The left side, I think. Sloth had told us to spread out to counteract the humans' probable plan. Envy had scoffed at how she knew the mind of the humans, but it seemed likely to me after all the time she spent with them. Besides, what did I care for the plan? I just wished this would be over. I did not want to fight random humans.

Then…what do you want?

I do not know. Why would you ask me that question? It's ridiculous.

The humans below moved. An ear-shattering movement of their weapons. "Aha!" Envy rejoiced. "They made a move. We can move in."

"No! Wait." Sloth held him back again. "Not yet."

We waited. For a while. I stared at the woman who did not fear water. She spoke now and then to the man, but other than that she remained quiet and stared straight ahead. Her face showed nothing, but her eyes…I could tell through her eyes that her mind was running rampant. When they wanted to move, she shouted words over the rain. Her voice was strong. Loud. I could hear her words perfectly from where I stood—although that was a benefit from the absence of mortality—and her fellow humans probably could as well.

With words from the blonde, the team began moving forward, drawing closer and closer to our place.

"Alright," Sloth conceded. "Let's move." Without another word she dissolved into water to match the rain. Envy transformed into one of the humans—dressed completely like them—and disappeared at the back of the building. Unlike either of them, I swung through an open, broken window at the top of the building and waited on the inside rafters for some unsuspecting humans.

From the inside, the rain sounded like a creature in and of itself. Water streamed down the decaying wood in small sounds like the feet of many animals scampering downward to their proper place. Drips of water leaked through the ceiling and created puddles in numerous places. Briefly I watched them.

Tears. Human tears were pouring in through the roof. Sadness. The humans were lamenting their possible defeat. Or at least…the humans except for that woman. She probably did not cry. She was immune to water.

I sighed. What were Sloth and Envy doing right now? There were some holes in the front of the building so I briefly caught a glimpse of some blue uniforms, but other than that I was completely isolated. It was nice. Action raged on around me—I assumed—while I had nothing to do with any of it. Perhaps if I remained there long enough nothing would happen. The rest of my supposed "family" would kill off the humans and I would stay listening to the rain, myself completely untouched by murder.

Well, not completely. I myself am a murder. A death, I suppose.

There were often times I wondered why. Why was I…t—

Suddenly Envy flew by me in his regular form. He wore an expression that reeked of the thrill of the fight. He spotted me on his way and ran next to me.

"Take of this one," he commanded. "As much as I'd like to have the pleasure of killing it, I don't have the time!"

"Which one?" I asked. We were alone.

"Just shut up and do as I say!" He ran across the rafters, straight outside the other end of the building.

This left me with an interesting situation. Alone, I was supposed to face an enemy that was not there. Did this mean I had to look for one? Did I have to actually leave this place of momentary refuge? If that was the case, I was willing to wait a few minutes to see how it unfolded.

Perhaps I should have left and followed Envy out of the building. But I did not. I waited, wanting to keep the sanctuary as long as I possibly could.

After no more than half a minute, I heard a noise in the direction of the front side. A human? Whipping my around to see this perpetrator, I spotted none other than the blonde-haired woman that was not effected by the rain. She held a gun in her hand and walked like she was on a distinct mission. Her nose…blood ran from it freely but she made no move to stop it. In her eyes was only the mission…bearing the emotion of a thousand men. I could feel fury radiating off of her in pounds of heat and sizzling electricity.

She was different from the other humans I knew.

"HOMUNCULUS!" she called out in the same voice of command that I had heard her use with the State Alchemists. "WHERE ARE YOU? COME OUT WHERE I CAN SEE YOU!!"

Of course. This building was dark and she had human eyes. My eyes could see perfectly in any lighting, but hers…ah, yes. The only source of light was by the hole in the front. She was almost blind in here.

Yet still, the woman advanced. Bravery? Courage? Or just anger? There was no way to tell. Any way, I needed to destroy this special woman as if she were any other human off the street.

Fine. In a way, I almost wanted to see how she fought and how she worked.

Jumping down from the rafters, I began advancing towards her. Of course she heard me; I wanted that. Facing me wildly, pointing her gun right at me, she fired a shot.

I did not even need to move. The bullet whizzed by my hair, passing me completely. She really could not see, apparently.

I continued to advance. Shakily she threatened, "One more move and I'll shoot!"

"Go ahead," I offered. "It will not do you any good."

She gasped. "A woman?"

How sad. She had mistaken me for an actual woman. I scoffed at the lunacy of the idea, needing to hide my pain. "You do not confront a woman," I answered, sharpening my hands into blades. "You confront a homunculus."

Deftly, I stretched out the blades until they reached her. Instead of simply killing her right there, I decided to slice her gun in half, making it useless.

Gasping again, but covering the noise before it completely escaped her, she dropped the former weapon. "Monster!" she yelled, reaching into one of her front pockets. The moment I saw the knife I dodged. Indeed she did throw it, but it landed somewhere behind us; completely in the back of this shed where it would be no help to her.

I rolled onto the floor in my dodge and whipped out my other bladed hand, slicing her across the stomach. She grunted and fell backwards. I watched in curiosity as thick her blood dripped down from the wound.

Amazingly, she managed to stagger again to her feet. This time she reached for the hilt of a sword by her side. "Impressive," I told her. I did not want to add the last fact: But still human. Let her think she had outsmarted a homunculus for at least a minute.

Unfortunately, before a minute could pass, she lunged at me with the sword—almost hitting me. I was surprised. Her sixth sense was very well developed in order for her to able to see in the dark. Using my arms, I blocked every single strike she had, skilled strikes though they were. Eventually I grew bored and knocked the sword out of her hand. She had lost too much blood for a tight grip, it seemed.

I began chuckling. "What next?" Truthfully, I was genuinely interested. Too interested, perhaps, to notice that she had drawn a knife from her other pocket. While I advanced towards her, she flung the knife at me again. I dodged, but too late. This time it hit me just below the chest.

Blood gushed out of my mouth with a strangled cry. False blood. There was never any pain when I bled, never any feeling. It was as if it took my body a moment to realize that it was not human, but if injured quickly, blood fell out of me simply due to reflex. A hint of something natural, perhaps.

I tripped on the floor, falling sideways. The woman was trying to escape me. She was running towards the hole—leaving. This I regrettably could not allow.

Pulling the knife out of my chest, already healing, I sharpened my hands from a kneeling position and cast them away from me. I knew I would hit her from the moment she turned her back on me.

All I heard was an excruciated scream. My hand impaled her through the front of her shin, splitting the bone down the middle. Of course, she fell. I could hear her agonized breaths leave her in sharp bursts. She lay on her back, completely defenseless.

Needless to say, it was a fascinating sight. One so powerful and courageous now squirming on the ground, upturned like a beetle without solid ground to stand upon.

I took my time getting up. She could not leave that spot. I doubted whether she would ever walk again in her short lifetime. As I moved closer to her, she began kicking the blade within her using the other leg. It did no good, but I was again surprised at the willpower it took. Surprised, no longer amazed. I had accepted the fact that she was feisty.

"You are a strong-willed human," I told her, walking slowly to meet her. "You have more fight in you than most men. Strange, though…" By this time I had reached her small body. I decided to lean over it. After sharpening my other hand, I directed the point exactly on the edge of her neck. "…that you should meet your end here. Right now. By my hand."

Her hands rose to meet my blade against her neck. She truly was suffering. The look on her face reminded me of a trampled rose petal. Something so beautiful now destroyed so carelessly. Blood from her nose ran into her mouth and she had no choice but to swallow it. She tried to pull the blade away from her, but the length of it was completely sharp. So, instead, my blades sliced through the silky skin on her palms as they desperately clutched onto me. The smell of blood became overtly powerful as it escaped this woman's exposed body.

I watched her for a moment. More than a moment, really. How fascinating to see one so near death…so helpless…

My own body proved to be quite unruly. It had frozen. Not a muscle would move at my will. My mind kept telling me to push the blade deeper into her throat. Kill her. Do as you are told! Obey your orders!

But…it is just so…beautiful…to watch her suffer…to watch her breathe her last…must this moment be ruined by her inevitable death?

Suddenly her face transformed. The pain seeping through her complexion changed into hate. Deep hatred. The kind of hatred boasted in hell as flames licked the feet of innocent humans and creatures. Her face reminded me of…torture.

"Do it," she spat at me. Her voice quivered because of blood loss, but the will that so defined her was still there. Still. I gaped in amazement. "Go ahead…do it…if you can. You...ho-homunculus…f-f-filth…"

Damn this frozen body. This pain. This amazement. This…woman. Damn her! But…her beauty was…unsurpassed by anything I had ever witnessed. Her hatred…her burning eyes that were so inhuman, but still natural…

In the background I heard footsteps and men shouting. I looked up. The others. They were coming this way. Damn! I could not kill her in such a rush. I could not…it would be the injustice of all life.

A man's voice said, "Move! Quickly! We need to find them!"

The woman beneath me was losing consciousness. How strange she looked…asleep. Strange and yet…

I ripped my blades out of her. She twitched but did not move. Let the humans heal her. She would not die today.

Before jumping away, I leaned over her once more and whispered in her fallen, half-dead ear, "Live."

I dashed towards the rafters again, fleeing the scene into the pouring rain. Water still drained from the heavens. It had not lightened a bit.

I stared into the sky, watching the rain pellets hit my face directly.

Wash over me, rain. Take away my sins. Heal the life of that woman.

Give life.

Give me life…

A/N: Woot! Finished a chapter. ::wipes sweat off brow:: That took a day. Oh well! It was completely worth it. I like the way Lust and Riza interacted…just as long as it wasn't too slow. What did you guys think? Was the beginning a little…blah? I hope not. Some of that was needed in order to set up the rest of the chapter. Tell me what you thought.

Sorry again for the long wait! You all know how much I love you. Please review! I look forward to it, as always!


End file.
